Haircuts
by Starry Eyed Artist
Summary: Isaac is a hair stylist in the Activity Club Salon, and Max is just a normal guy who takes care of his baby sister while simultaneously going to college. These two meet when Max takes Zoey for a haircut and they keep bumping into each other. They go from strangers to friends and maybe start falling in love. (( no spectrals in this ))
1. Chapter 1

"Zoey, it's just a haircut."

"I like getting haircuts!"

"Since when?" Max pulled the handle of the door, holding it open for a few brief moments while Zoey slipped on inside. He followed, ignoring the chiming bell that went off. He never really took Zoey to get her hair cut at an actual salon, just snipping it for her, but she had insisted. The nineteen year old found it agrivating that his baby sister sat down and threw a fit until Max agreed to take her.

"Since the last time." She replied haughtily, skipping over to sit in one of the chairs close to the desk. With a roll of his eyes, the brunet went to the desk to check her in.

"Little sister?" The girl standing at the desk smiled at him, and Max nodded.

"More like a little pest." He grumbled. "Anyways, her name's Zoey."

The girl typed into the computer while simultaneously asking, "Last name?"

"Puckett." She looked at him, quirking an eyebrow.

"Your last name is Pickett? As in pickett fence?"

Max pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Puckett_." He repeated, a bit louder this time around.

"Alright. She's in the computer, so you may as well have a seat. One of those idiots will be done soon." She grinned and waved him away, and Max heard a call of "you love us anyways, Izzy!" from one of the hairdressers. He settled down next to his sister, pulling the brim of his baseball cap down to hide his eyes. He laced an arm across the back of Zoey's chair and peeked over her shoulder at the style book she was looking at.

"You do know you're just getting a trim, right?"

"Yeah. But these are so cool to look at." Of course that was her logic. The siblings started bickering over the aesthetic of each haircut, where Max was on the negative side for the most part.

"Zoey?" Both of the Pucketts looked up at the younger's name, and Max pushed himself up, bringing his sister with him. He shoved her forward, not unkindly, but just enough to get her moving. A guy Max's height awaited them, orange hair up in spikes that reminded the brunet strongly of an anime character. "Hey. I'm Isaac." He smiled at her, and Zoey beamed right back, hopping into the chair he stood by. He held up some of her hair to out the cloak-thing (Max had no idea what it was called) around her neck.

"Do you want a haircut-haircut or...?" Isaac trailed off.

"Just a trim." Max responded. "She's not allowed to get a haircut any shorter than what she already has."

The redhead quirked an eyebrow at him. "You her dad or something?"

"Older brother. But I don't think our dad would be all too happy with some of the haircuts she wanted." That pulled a whine out of Zoey and a laugh out of Isaac.

"That bad, huh?" Isaac grinned as he pulled out the ponytail from Zoey's red hair. "Sorry about Isabel, by the way. She doesn't pay attention to what people say sometimes, so she screws up names." He started brushing it out, and the trio lapsed into silence for a little while as the redhead did his job.

After a lapse of silence, Zoey blurted out, "Do you style your hair?"

Isaac looked a little startled. "Huh?" He paused in combing through her hair for an instant before resuming it again, blue eyes a little wide.

"Your hair. It's all spiky and stuff. Do you style it?"

"No—it's like this naturally." He reached out and grabbed the scissors, pulling some of her hair between his fingers and snipping off probably less than a millimeter of the reddish strands.

"I'm calling bull." Max said immediately. Zoey snickered, and Isaac stiffened up a bit. "You look like a freaking anime character. There is no _way_ that your hair is like that all on it's own."

"Well, it is." He responded, shooting an annoyed glance at the brunet. He continued snipping at Zoey's hair, slowly and carefully to make sure it was even. "You've got really pretty hair, Zoey."

"I know. I got it from our mom—Max and dad have plain old brown hair." She bragged, sounding pleased by the compliment.

"Oh shut it, Zoey." Max would have pinched her on normal surcumstanses, but that wasn't an option here. "Having brown hair isn't bad."

"Your hair is boring, though!" She argued. "You could at least grow it out like dad."

"Your dad has his hair grown out?" Isaac looked up in curiosity, standing up and pulling the cloak off of Zoey. She happily hopped out of the seat, putting her hair back up into a ponytail.

"Yeah." Max pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture. "This is him." The ginger peeked over his shoulder and then grinned, letting out a snort.

"Oh my god."

"I know, right?" Max snapped his phone shut and slid it into his pocket. "He tries to be 'hip' and 'cool'. It's so friggin' awful."

"He's fun though." Zoey pointed out.

"That's because you two have the mentality of seven-year-olds." Zoey tried to hit him, but he caught her by the wrists. Isaac watched it all in amusement, cleaning up his station with a grin.

"So this is what siblings act like." He commented.

"Nah, just us. The advantages of having a seven year difference." Max caught his hat before it tipped off of his head, pulling it down a bit more snugly.

"It's only six! I'm almost thirteen!" Zoey stuck out her tongue and Max repeated the action.

"Yeah, well my twentieth birthday is in four months. It's seven years."

Max gave a small wave to Isaac as they left his station, and Max went up to the counter to find out how much the trim cost them. He paid, glancing past Isabel to see Isaac cleaning his station again. He led Zoey out of the store.

..

**Heyyy! Okay so yeah I'm just gonna say now that any story I write that is supposed to be multichapter will be updated pretty spurraticly depending on interest. I won't even put a date on it because I know I won't stick to it. **

**Also yeah guess who's into paranatural**

**-Starry Eyed Artist**


	2. Chapter 2

You know, Max almost expected to take his sister to the salon, see the stylist, and then never see them ever again. But no, that's not what destiny wanted with him. It decided that it was going to shove him into Max's life until he accepted that yeah, Isaac might become a regular part of it.

Max fought that as hard as he could. He was just a guy who was going to college in his dad's old hometown. He would be here maybe a year, maybe two, until he had raised up enough money to get the heck out. He didn't really want friends and he didn't want to socialize. He missed Sam and he missed Doghouse and he was really upset that his dad, who shouldn't have control over his life because he's almost twenty, stole his keys the moment they moved in.

Anyways, back to Isaac. Max never put much thought into seeing anyone from the hair salon again. He never put in any thought at all, actually. So when he went to the store to pick up some stuff for his dad, he didn't expect to run into Isaac.

Literally.

He was going to turn into an aisle when he caught a glimpse of orange and then collided with the spiky-hair spectral. Isaac stepped on his feet and Max probably elbowed him, but they both yelped in surprise and slight pain and backpedaled. The sudden momentum made Isaac fall on his butt, and Max did a backflip to keep himself from doing the same.

"Holy cow, are you okay?" Isaac was staring at Max with wide eyes as he came over and knelt down, helping pick up his stuff.

"Did you just do a backflip?"

Now it was Max's turn to stare. "... Dude, I knock you to the ground and your first concern is me doing a backflip? You should check your priorities."

Red flushed onto Isaac's cheeks and he spluttered. Max snickered and helped him to his feet. Isaac stuffed one hand in his pocket, cradling his basket in the other hand. There was an awkward silence. "So, I guess you live here now?"

"Yeah. I'm going to college here for a while, so my dad decided to up and move me and my sister."

"What about your mom?" Max went quiet and Isaac seemed to sense how uncomfortable he was on the subject. "Oh, sorry. Where did you live before here?" The ginger cocked his head.

"Ever heard of Baxborough?" Isaac's eyes lit up.

"Yeah! We went there on a school trip a few years ago. I was a sophomore, I think." A grin adorned his face, and Max felt a pang in the back of his mind. _He's just like a puppy._

"Oh, that's pretty cool, I guess." Max cradled what he had in his arms; peanut butter, pepperoni, and mustard. He had to get pickles, and then his dad wanted him home.

Isaac eyed the strange combination of foods. "Cravings?" He inquired.

"My dad shooed me out here," Max admitted. "He still likes to try and control me, even though I'm nineteen."

"That sucks. I don't live with my parents anymore. I live above the shop, actually." Isaac laughed, pulling his free hand out of his pocket and rubbed his neck. "The owner's letting me stay for the time being. His name's Spender—he's nice, but he's kinda weird."

"Most people in Mayview seem a little weird." The brunet didn't even try to sugarcoat it. Every person he had met so far seemed nuts—except for Collin. Collin was nice. He had some weird friends, though.

"Got that right." Isaac sighed. "Anyways, maybe I'll see you around?" He gave a lopsided grin and Max couldn't hold back a smile in return.

"Yeah. Maybe." Max gave a shrug, but before he wandered away, Isaac stopped him.

"You seem like you keep your hair pretty short, so drop by if you ever need a trim, okay?" He looked almost anxious, and Max just kind of grinned back in response.

"I'll make sure to request you, Mr. Anime Hair." He teased. Isaac bristled and flicked him on the nose. It was a strangely intimate gesture, and Max was surprised by it.

"Whatever. I don't work Thursdays, by the way." The redhead waved. "Bye."

"Later." Max gave a mock salute and watched as Isaac turned the corner and kept going. He smiled a bit at how dorky Isaac was—he seemed interesting. The brunet picked up the pickles that he needed to get and went to check out. He caught sight of spiky orange hair as he was leaving, and he saw Isaac arguing with Isabel— the girl who had made Zoey's appointment. They looked like they were arguing.

After successfully managing to rid his thoughts of the two hairdressers, Max hummed to himself as he walked back to the house he shared with his father and sister.

"Maxie!" Zoey pounced at him when he came back in, but Max sidestepped and watched her tumble onto the ground with an indignant shriek. "You suuuuckkk," she whined.

"Whatever." Max dropped the bag on the table.

"Hey, did you see that cool guy from the hair place while you were out?" Zoey's grey eyes were wide to match his own.

"You wanted to ask if I saw Isaac?" Max gave her a weird look, holding her matching gaze.

"Oooh! You remembered his name!" Zoey grinned.

"Well, yeah. I'm good with names."

"You're awful with names."

"Shut it." He swooped down, getting her in a playful headlock and giving her a boogie as she shrieked and clawed at his arm.

"You should get his number!" She gasped, finally managing to claw her way free.

"I—Wha—Why?" Max spluttered.

"You need friends in this town, Max." She scolded.

"Yeah, yeah. Shush, I don't want criticism from my baby sister."

"I'm thirteen!" Max rolled his eyes and moved towards his room with a call of "whatever!" over his shoulder.

Maybe he would get Isaac's number the next time he saw the ginger.

**Okay so most of this is dialogue so sorry?**

**Whatever. Isaac and Max bumped into each other at the grocery store and Zoey probably ships them already.**

**Zoey is the fangirl within us all.**

**Anyways, until next time.**

**-StarryEyedArtist**


	3. Chapter 3

"C'moooon, Max!" Zoey tugged at his sleeve, and Max planted his heels and refused to move. His sister stopped and huffed at him with a glare that he gladly returned. They had a stare down with the intensity that only siblings could create, and then Zoey gave a harsh yank on his arm, pulling the surprised adult forward. Max ripped his arm away and did a front hand spring to keep himself from falling over.

"Geez Zo, why d'ya want to come skating so badly?" Max huffed, searching around for his baseball hat before pulling it down tightly onto his head.

"_Everyone_ is going to be here! Melody told me at school, and I don't want to be the loser who stayed at home on a Friday night." Zoey was bouncing as they crossed the parking lot, constantly pulling her brother along by the wrist.

"But why did you bring _me_ along? I hate skating." Max sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Dad made me. And you're awesome at skating, whether or not you hate it." Zoey stuck out her tongue and Max returned the gesture by ruffling her hair. If they weren't in public, he would have her in a headlock, but he'd rather not be stared out.

They got to the front, Zoey bought them both skate tickets with her allowance, and they were in. "You can pay for food." She said, rather matter-of-factly. Max groaned, snatched his ticket, and went to trade it in for skates.

"Go find your friends." He ordered and he heard a giggle when she ran off. With a roll of his eyes, the brunet went and got his skates without another thought of his sister. After making sure they were the right size, he sat down to lace them up. Inline blades were so much easier to use than the other ones, and he preferred them to any others.

"Hey! You're Max, aren't ya?" He looked up into the smiling face of Isabel, who sat down next to him. "Yeah, I recognize you. Isaac told us you bumped into him at the store."

"Yeah, pretty much." Max gave her a blank look. "Do you remember all your customers or something?"

She laughed, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. Her brown eyes glinted red, and intimidation shot through Max. He didn't feel as though getting on this girl's bad side was a good idea. She leaned forward on her hand. "Nah, It's just the Isaac remembered you. He's so bad with names, it's funny."

"Who's so bad with names?" A blonde boy skated over, glasses askew over bright green eyes. He had in a huge grin on his face and black paint splatters on his shirt.

"Just talking 'bout Isaac, Eddie." Isabel said happily. "Max, this is Ed. Ed, this is that customer that Isaac was talking about."

Ed thrust out his hand, shaking Max's fast enough that he could barely see what had just happened."Ed Burger. Any friend of the princess Izzy is a friend of me." He made a mock bow, exaggerating his movements before popping back up like a daisy.

"Uh... Max Puckett. And I'll keep that in—" Ed and Isabel disappeared. "—mind..." The brunet was bewildered by those two. They were rather eccentric, weren't they? As long as they weren't spurraticly attempting to give him a heart attack he supposed he was fine. He realized he was still fiddling with the latches and laces, and he finished getting his blades on his feet. Standing, he skated over to the ring and went off, swerving around people. He passed by Isabel and Ed, who were holding hands and occasionally slinging their counterpart around in a wide arc with loud, cheerful laughter. Max tried to stay clear of them, but after he'd passed them three or four times, he noticed someone trailing behind them, clinging to the wall.

Isaac.

With a grin on his face, Max skated up behind him and said loudly, "Boo!"

Isaac yelped in surprise, tumbling forward and skates going out from underneath him. He glared at Max as he skated forward and spun. "You're a jerk."

"I've got my moments." He admitted, holding out a hand. Isaac eyed it warily before taking it and getting to his feet, albeit quite unsteadily. He slung to the wall again, a mixture of fear and determination flickering across his face. "Isaac, dude, can you not skate or something?" When the ginger's mouth tightened, Max realized he had hit right on the dot.

He started laughing and Isaac went to swat him, lunging forward and then realizing his mistake as he stumbled and tripped. He flailed, grabbing onto Max and almost dragging him down. The brunet's laughter was cut short as he instinctively grabbed onto Isaac's arms and hoisted him to his feet. They hastily let go of each other, and Max made a show of wiping his hands on his pants.

"You hush." The ginger sniffed and continued along the walk with Max skating slowly beside him.

"Do you want some help or something? I'm quite the expert in helping inadequate people become adequate." Isaac reached over and swatted him on the arm, making the brunet laugh and shift away.

"Shut upppppp!" Max laughed even harder as Isaac's cheeks turned a color similar to his hair. Isaac shifted his grip from the walk to Max's arm, just so he could pinch the other. Max swatted his hand away.

"Hey, don't cling to me!"

"You said you'd help, and there is no way to make it not look suggestive." Isaac snapped out. Max growled, but realized that Isaac was right. He taught by example and making that person do whatever it is over and over again until they had it down. When he taught Zoey to skate, he held her hand until she was steady enough. He supposed he would have to do the same.

"Whatever. Gimme your hand."

Isaac jerked back, blue eyes wide. "Huh?"

"Gimme your hand. This is how I taught Zoey." Max held out his hand and Isaac took it with reluctance. Taking off slowly, Max guided the petrified ginger away from the wall. Isaac's grip on his hand was tight already and only got tighter. He winced when he felt nails digging into his skin.

"Jeez, dude, you're gonna cut off circulation." Isaac blinked and released his hold a bit.

"Sorry..."

"S'okay." Max waved it off. "Listen, step with one foot and glide with it. Then do it with the other side. Watch my feet." Max skated forward a bit, having to tug Isaac along behind him. The latter attempted to copy his movements and moved forward a bit more gracefully that his attempts at clinging to the wall. After a few tries of this, Isaac and Max were about even. But Isaac was still throwing his weight around too much and using him as a crutch. "I'm going to let go." He said carefully.

Isaac grabbed onto his arm tightly. "No! I'm going to fall," the careful concentration on the redhead's face was replaced with panic. "Please don't let go."

Guilt flooded over Max, but he kept up his mask of snark and additude. He held Isaac's arms and pulled his hand away before skating away a little bit and turning around. Isaac stood there like a statue, glaring fiercely at Max.

"Skate towards me," Max encouraged. "It'll be fine."

Isaac gave a tight-lipped frown. Regardless, he started skating slowly. Max subtly began skating backwards until he had Isaac moving faster towards him. He reached out and caught Max's forarms, causing the both of them to spin as they started laughing.

"I did it!" Isaac looked like a kid in a candy store, pride showing in his beaming smile.

"Yeah, you did! Good job." Max got a wicked grin, and then turned and shot off.

"You piece of—Max!" Isaac skated after him, gradually gathering speed and racing after him. Max lowered a bit, managing to go even faster and darting last people and weaving through others.

"Isabel! Ed!" The two peeked over their shoulders in unison, and then seperates a bit, holding their arms out straight. Max ducked underneath their outstretched arms, diving forward. He almost slipped, but crashed into the wall instead. Isaac had to weave around his coworkers.

"You guys are traitors!" He called over his shoulder, hitting the wall next to Max with his other shoulder. The two stared at each other before grinning. Max skated over to the side and stepped off the ring, sitting down on one of the benches available. Isaac joined him and they started joking around, prodding each other and throwing out playful insults. Soon the name calling reduced to things like 'ginger' and 'nerd', so they just snickered to themselves.

They got up to go skate multiple times and sat down multiple times, sometimes going over to the old arcade games they had and playing those. Isaac was really good at PacMan.

The couples skate rolled around about an hour later, and Max went to go find his sister. She was skating with a black haired boy, who was blushing and stumbling along behind her and marveling at the fact that a pretty girl was holding his hand. Isabel and Ed were holding hands still and skating around happily, chattering away.

"Crap." Max sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "D'you wanna skate now, or should we just wait for the couple crap to be over?"

"Dunno about you, but I want to skate. We can suck it up and hold hands for one song." Isaac grabbed Max's hand and pulled him onto the floor. Max stuck his free hand in his pocket again and they stayed silent, skating around and outside the ring of couples that had gravitated towards the center. One song turned into three, and Max was finding out that Isaac's hands were really soft and they were really warm, and his eyes seemed to be glowing in the darker light. He was disturbed that he kind of wanted to hold Isaac's hand more, but he convinced himself it was because he was cold all the time.

"Hey Max!" He turned and looked at his sister, who skated up next to them with the boy she was skating with. "This is Alex. Alex, this is my big brother." The black haired boy stammered out a hello, and Max nodded. "Did you get his number yet?"

"Huh?" Isaac peeked at Max curiously, but the brunet refused to look at him.

"I'll get it before we leave, Zo. Now go hang out with your boyfriend." The two flushed red, much to Max's satisfaction.

"You can hang out with yours, then." Zoey tugged Alex away and they skated off. Max flushed and he was relieved that the comment got to Isaac, too—the weather-obsessed nerd had bright red cheeks. They didn't bring it up for the rest of the night.

Max _did_ manage to grab Isaac before he left with Isabel and Ed, though. "Gimme your phone." He said.

Isaac did a double take. "Why?"

"Just give it." When he pulled out the sleek blue electronic, Max snatched it and quickly went to contacts. He entered his information without a single glance at Isaac, and then thrust the phone back into his hand after saving. "Uh... Text me if you ever want to hang out. Okay?"

"Yeah... Sure. I'll do that." Isaac and he stared at each touch for a few moments, but Max slapped his arm.

"Isabel and Ed are waiting for you." Isaac turned with a smile and ran down the steps,running towards his friends. He stopped at the car door and waved. Max returned it, leaning on the railings and watching the car disappear. Zoey appeared beside him, crossing her arms.

"Did you get his number?"

"Did you get Alex's?"

"..." She didn't answer, and Max didn't either. They were quite in the way home.

**Okay, this chapter probably has more words than the other two but, hey, lots of words are good, right?**

**Edsabel friendshipping fuels my heart. And Isaac and Max are just being huge nerds who like holding hands.**

**Till next time!**

**-StarryEyedArtist**


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, mornings were not Max's thing. Especially when his phone goes off at two o-frickin-clock. Max had been curled up, sleeping blissfully, when his phone went off. He jerked awake from the noise, startled from it, and he rolled over to look at his glowing phone. He reached over and swiped it from his night stand. Checking the message, his brow furrowed in confusion.

* * *

><p><em>[Saturday; Unknown Number] 2:17 AM: I can't sleep. Are you awake?<em>

He glanced at the area code, confusion sweeping over him. He didn't even have to guess who it was—after all, he'd only given his number to one person in Mayview.

_[Saturday; You] 2:18 AM: No, I'm fast asleep. What's up?_

The reply was instantaneous.

_[Saturday; Unknown Number] 2:18 AM: Like I said before, couldn't sleep._

_[Saturday; Unknown Number] 2:18 AM: I didn't wake you up, did I?_

Okay, the unknown number thing was going to annoy him. He quickly saved the number in his phone and put it under Isaac's name.

_[Saturday; You] 2:19 AM: Nah. We're good._

_[Saturday; You] 2:19 AM: Nightmares?_

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:20 AM: Yeah. Kinda._

Max chuckled softly. Of course he had nightmares.

_[Saturday; You] 2:21 AM: Want to talk about it?_

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:21 AM: No thanks._

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:24 AM: Did you fall asleep?_

_[Saturday; You] 2:24 AM: No, I'm awake._

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:24 AM: Okay._

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:25 AM: Can we talk?_

_[Saturday; You] 2:25 AM: Can't. Dad and Zoey are asleep._

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:26 AM: I meant in person._

Max stared at the text in bewilderment. In person? He looked out the window, eyebrows knitting together out of confusion. It was pitch black, and more important, it was friggin' early.

_[Saturday; You] 2:27 AM: Isaac it's 2:30 in the morning._

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:28 AM: I figured that would be how you'd respond._

_[Saturday; You] 2:28 AM: When and where?_

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:30 AM: Huh?_

_[Saturday; You] 2:31 AM: You wanted to meet up, didn't you?_

_[Saturday; You] 2:31 AM: Just tell me where and I can meet you there_

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:32 AM: Do you know where the park is?_

_[Saturday; You] 2:33 AM: Gimme like 10min_

_[Saturday; Isaac] 2:34 AM: See you there_

Max rolled out of bed, pulling jeans on over his pajama pants and throwing on his Insolent Children hoodie. He snuck downstairs, past his sisters room and past his dad, who was snoring loudly on the couch. grabbing his shoes, he slipped out the door and pulled them on, hopping a bit on whichever foot he wasn't trying to get a shoe on.

He took off at a dash, shoving the dread of getting in trouble to the back of his mind. He was nineteen, he could do what he wanted. Max slowed to a walk when he caught sight of the chain link fence that surrounded the entire perimeter of the park. He looked around, catching sight of a body on the swings. The bright orange hair gave the entire identity away.

Max stuck his foot in one of the links and hauled himself over the top of the fence, gritting his teeth at the loud rattling. Isaac's head shot up, but he loosened up when Max hit the ground and rolled forward. He popped back up onto his feet and moved towards Isaac, sticking his hands in his pockets. He crashed down into the swing next to him, pulling his hands out of his pockets and curling his fingers around the chains.

They sat in silence for a while.

"Thanks." Isaac's voice was soft, and Max saw his sad expression in the bright moonlight.

"S'no problem." Max reached out and clapped his hand on Isaac's shoulder. He could see that the hairdresser's eyes were tinted red and that they had an unusual sheen to them. "... Tell me what's wrong."

Shifting away from Max, Isaac quirked an eyebrow. "Nothing's wrong."

"Bullshit." The word sent a bolt of surprise through Max; he hardly ever swore. He softened his tone, shifting his weight so he bumped knees with Isaac. "You wouldn't have asked me to come out here at two in the morning because of 'nothing'."

Isaac went quiet, and he dragged his toe through the dirt. "I get really bad nightmares, okay?" He finally spat out. "There's always this thing there, and it just stands there and laughs at me and tells me that I'm not good enough. It's something in my head that won't go away and it won't leave me alone." His voice cracked and he tucked his head, hands coming up and clasping behind his neck before he slid them down and hid his face.

Max felt his stomach twist. He slid off the swing, crouching down in front of the distressed redhead. Placing his hands on the other's wrists, he gently pulled Isaac's hands away from his face.

"Hey," He said softly. "Listen, that's you psyching yourself out. I'm not a psychology major or anything, but I do know that people with stress or depression tend to belittle themselves." God, was he really this bad at comforting people? Isaac looked even more miserable now. He pulled Isaac off the swing and gave him a hug, because he really looked like he needed one at that moment.

Isaac stiffened against him, but slowly relaxed as Max began rubbing calming soothing circles into his back. The fabric of his sweatshirt was lifted from his chest, and he quickly put the pieces together to conclude that Isaac was gripping onto it.

"I did that too, back when my mom died. I told myself it was my fault when it wasn't. You're an awesome person Isaac. I barely know you and I've figured that out." Max moved his grip to Isaac's shoulders, and held him away from him. "Keep that in mind, okay?"

Isaac lunged forward and threw his arms around Max, crying into his shoulder. Max was thrown completely off guard by the action, and was knocked back onto his butt in the process. But he hugged Isaac tight, and they stayed like that until Isaac stopped blubbering out nonsense. It died into silence and Max had to shove the other off of him.

"Feeling better?" A nod. "Good." The brunet got to his feet and Isaac joined him, wiping his tear-stained face with his sleeve. Max ruffled his hair, drawing a whine from the hairdresser as he swatted his hand away.

"I'll see you later?" Isaac managed a smile, and Max gave a nod.

"If the stars are in position, then yes. Later, Mr. Anime Protagonist." Max turned at the same time Isaac did and took a flying leap at the fence, grabbing the top and vaulting over it. He kept running until he got home, and was faced with the problem of getting back inside, because the door was locked. His dad must've gotten up and locked all the doors. He solved his problem by going around to his window and throwing himself up the wall, grabbing onto the ledge of his sill. Hoisting himself up, Max opened the panel and tumbled inside. He promptly fell onto his bed and was out the second his head hit the pillow.

_[Saturday; Isaac] 3:01 AM: Thank you._

**Hahaha this didn't hurt me to write not at all**

**StarryEyedArtist**


	5. Chapter 5

A week and a half after the nightmare epsiode, and Max decided he really needed the hour of sleep he began missing every night. Two days after his early-morning escapade with Isaac, the redhead called him in a complete panic, tears and all. Then it happened three nights after the first episode, and then the next night and the night after until it was a week total. As much as Max enjoyed helping out his friend with his weird midnight therapy sessions, he liked his sleep so much more.

And because of that, he found himself stalking into the hair shop twenty minutes before closing with a set jaw and set priority. Isabel was cleaning her own station, and she brightened up at the sight of him.

"Heya Max!" The Asian girl beamed widely at him. "Need a cut?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "Isaac here?"

"He got off fifteen minutes ago."

"He upstairs?" Isabel shifted, but nodded. Gesturing for Max to follow her, she turned and started off across the width of the store. The brunet followed along at a similar pace, and he had to make a sudden turn to avoid running into a wall. Isabel leaned against a wall, gesturing at a door.

"The stairs are behind this one. Don't make Isaac too mad, okay?" She grinned.

"That's the plan." Max grinned in response, eyes bright. He slipped through the door and crept quietly up the stairs, sticking his hands in his pockets. He peeked his head into the apartment, impressed by the decor, and he caught sight of Isaac laying on the couch, curled into a ball. Walking over in that direction, he stood directly in front of Isaac, who appeared to be dozing. Max leaned over to shake his shoulder. "Hey Thunderball!"

Blue eyes snapping open, Isaac let out a yelp of surprise, sitting up fast and crashing his forehead into Max's. A stinging pain blossomed in the skin of his forehead and he groaned, standing up and rubbing where the collision happened. Isaac was holding his, tears shining in his eyes, and Max couldn't help but think he majorly looked like an anime character.

"What're you doing here?" Isaac finally asked, hissing a bit as he looked up.

"Go pack a bag." At the blank stare he was getting, Max rolled his eyes and continued. "Go pack an overnight bag, you're coming over to my house."

"Oh—okay." Isaac got up and looked at him weird before turning and going to his room. Max crashed on the couch, ready to respect the other's privacy. Looking around the living room, his eyes trailed from picture frames to the pale yellow wall paper. There was a tall man with blonde hair and sunglasses, and Isaac as a kid, and the two downstairs as kids. One caught his interest and he focused in on it.

The man was sitting in a booth with the three friends, chin in his hand as he watched the kids argue. Isaac's face was red and he looked like he was yelling, blue eyes bright. Ed looked like he was teasing the redhead mercilessly, and Isabel was pointing a fry at Isaac, obviously saying something. They looked like a family.

"I'm ready to go." Max tilted his head back and looked up with a smile. Isaac had a bag slung over his shoulder, and the brunet hopped up. They were quiet until about halfway to Max's house, when Isaac broke the silence.

"So, what's with the sudden sleepover?" He asked, obviously trying to sound casual. There was an undertone of curiosity, as though he was trying to mask it.

"Listen, love ya and all Isaac, but I really need that hour of sleep that's taken up in our therapy sessions. So, I'm gonna see if you sleep better at my house." That was Max's explanation. His whole reasoning was that he needed sleep.

Isaac stared, but didn't protest. "Uh, okay."

He didn't protest at all, for the rest of the time he spent that night fully conscious. He and Max played video games, MarioKart and Super SmashBros included in the mix, and then they watched one of the cheesiest horror films Max owned, as well as _Spirited Away_ because Isaac begged, and then it was almost ten at night and the brunet noticed his friend was yawning.

"You ready to head to bed?" He asked. After receiving a nod and yawn in return, he took it as a yes. "C'mon, my room's this way." He motioned in the direction of his room, and the redhead followed.

"I'll sleep on the floor if need be." Isaac offered. Max shook his head.

"Nope. My bed's big enough—we can share." He opened the door and shoved Isaac inside playfully. With a yelp, the ginger flailed as he was shoved and he gave an indignant huff once he had straightened up.

Max let Isaac take first dibs on the side he wanted, and he picked the outside. That left Max to crash down in the slack between Isaac and the wall after the lights were turned off. With the lack of vision, the brunet could hear the sound of his breathing as it mingle with the sound of Isaac's, and he was all too aware of the warmth that was just so close. _Don't you dare, Maxwell Pucket_.

Just as he calmed his hyperactive mind and had started drifted away into the blissful embrace of sleep, he was pulled into a literal one. His grey eyes snapped open at the feeling of arms around his waist, pulling him close, and breath on the back of his neck. He stiffened in the hold.

"Isaac," he whispered. He didn't get a response. _Great. I pick the friend who's a cuddler._

He squirmed, trying to get out of the hold the redhead had on him, but then he was jerked backwards and his back was pressed up against Isaac's stomach. Their legs were entangled, and everywhere that Max made contacts with Isaac burned with warmth.

"Isaac," he whispered urgently. "Let go of me,"

No response.

He tried squirming out, but that wasn't working well. The more he struggled, the tighter Isaac's grip on him got. It was like Chinses handcuffs, really. After about five minutes if squirming, Max just gave in. He was cold, anyways, and he could deal with it if it was only one night. Warmth breath brushed across the back of his neck, shooting shivers down his spine, and the ginger's grip slackened a bit. Twisting around in the hold, Max ended up with his face in Isaac's collarbone and his back arched to keep contact.

Isaac was so warm. It was unbelievable to Max how the hairdresser seemed like he was on fire with how warm his skin was. _I could totally do this more often_. No. No, get those thoughts out right now.

"Isaac," Max whispered, pulling back as far as he could in his cage, and finally the redhead's eyes fluttered open.

"Hmm?" He sighed, pulling Max close and burying his face in the other's collarbone.

Max's cheeks were burning now. "Get offa me." He huffed, weakly trying to shove him away. When he didn't get a response, Max growled and tried to slip out. The viper grip was back, and he decided that this wasn't worth it, and he was tired, god dang it. He rolled over again and curled into Isaac, blushing furiously still and wondering why, and he fell asleep like that with the parting thought of; _I'll chew him out tomorrow._

Yeah right.

**Hey guys! Double update! **

**God, this is like the furthest I've giver gotten in a story without losing muse, and. I still have a ton left. I am so happy.**

**starryEyedArtist**


	6. Chapter 6

"Max... Max, wake up," the brunet's eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring at the shining silhouette that was Isaac O'Connor. The rising sun's rays stood out, making patches of his skin and hair glow in the light, and for a second Max really felt like he could melt under the other's blue gaze.

That was before his senses came back, and he realized that he had an arm draped across the other's waist. He sat up, yanking his arm back faster than what was probably humanly possible and ignoring the almost hurt look that flashed across Isaac's face. He yawned, stretched and letting his back pop. "Why did you wake me up?"

"I was getting bored. I've been awake for, like, three hours."

Max stared at him. "Three hours? Why didn't you wake me up earlier, then?"

Isaac looked away, ears turning red as an embarrassed flush crept up his neck. "You looked peaceful." He mumbled, sliding out of the bed. Max followed him, rolling off the bed and landing in no crouch before standing up and stalking out of his room on silent feet. Isaac followed along behind him this time, stretching his arms up and yawning contently. Max yawned on return, and he flopped on the couch when he entered the living room.

"Can we get something to eat?" Isaac asked, rubbing his eyes and looking still kind of tired.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Max got up, rubbing his eyes. He got out two bowls and poured cereal in one, but a hand on his wrist stopped him from pouring them in the other. "... What?"

"Ah..." Isaac blushed, gaining an interest in his bare toes, curling them against the tile. "I'm a vegan."

"Oh." Max blinked. "Uh, I dunno if we have anything you can eat..."

"It's okay. I can get something when I go home." Isaac waved it off, blushing even harder. They stood there in awkward silence, and Max seized the bowl he had poured the cereal in and dumped it all back in the box. He put everything away, and looked down at his wrinkled shirt and pajama pants he didn't really remember putting on.

"You have to work today, don't you?" Isaac looked over at the clock. He laughed softly, rubbing his neck and leaving Max in confusion.

"Haha, yeah... My shift was supposed to start thirty minutes ago." Max's eyes pretty much bulged out of his head when he saw the time.

He cursed. "I have classes!" He turned and sprinted for his room, dodging around his sister. Throwing open his closet, he used his weird speed-changing tenique thing. Isaac was freaking out as well, struggling to pull his clothes in. Throught the panic, Max stilled and stared at Isaac's shirtless form as he hopped around, trying to get his jeans on. Something golden peeked over the top of his waistband, Blood rushed to his cheeks and he turned around, pulling his cap on his head and pulling a jacket on over his shoulders. He looked alright, probably, but that was at pretty much the bottom of his priority list.

Isaac waved once they got to the door. "Maybe we can hang out when I get off work? I can swing by your school or somethin'."

"Yeah, sure. See ya, Isaac." Max grinned, and the two friends turned to go off in different directions. The brunet took off at a run, feet pounding against the concrete quickly because he had like ten minutes to get to class. Relieve folded over him when he saw the campus and he sped past a couple of students, using the wall to flip over a couple of students because he would have run into them otherwise. Max landed hard on his feet, taking a moment to stabilize himself before running for his class. He got inside just moments before the door was shut, panting from his run.

The class was actually interesting that day. It was open discussion, meaning Max was the only one who spoke, but eventually he managed to provoke some people into a debate. It was fun, arguing with them over the choices and morals of fictional characters. The three hours were up faster than he though, and he slid outta his seat and moseyed on out the door.

He could take his time home today. That was his plan, but he was almost a mile away from the school campus when he head a thick Jersey accent come from behind him.

"Well well, whadawe got here?" The sneer came from a tall redhead, who had a leather jacket and the IQ of a goldfish. Max sighed.

"What do you want, Johnny?" He asked, scowling.

"Nothing much. Just some payback for makin' us all look likea bunch a idiots." His black eyes glinted, and he grinned cruelly.

"I didn't do anything." Max responded nonchalantly. "All of you are imbeciles. 'Cept maybe RJ." RJ tugged their hood up, but stayed quiet. They didn't seem to like getting involved with the hurting part of the process, and Max has pretty sure they just held people down.

Apparently singling out the nonbinary member of their gang was a bad idea, because a fist swung at him and Max dropped to avoid it. He growled and rolled forward, spinning in his hands and digging his heel into Johnny's stomach. It earned him a satisfying grunt of pain, but then Johnny grabbed his ankle and twisted him away. Max hissed, and rolled backwards onto his feet. Out of all days, they chose the day when he was in the best mood?

Figures.

Johnny wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, an evil glint in his eyes. "Stephen, Ollie. Have at 'im." Oh no. Max backpedaled fast, growling with irritation. Stephen wasn't particularly tall, but he had muscled arms and that was enough to keep Max the heck away. Ollie, on the other hand, was huge and muscular and terrifying overall. But, somehow, he was the voice of reason in their group.

The parkourist dodged the throws for the most part, but Stephen got him distracted and Ollie got him on the ground. He gasped when a foot collided with his stomach, and he tried to squirm away. He managed to push himself up into a bridge when the next kick came, so it swung into empty space. Pushing off the ground with his feet, he rose to a handstand and kicked one of them in the face. Max's blood was roaring in his ears—it had been a while since his last good fight. Baxborough was crawling with drunkards who liked fighting and a bunch of brawlers, so Max normally fought them and most the time he managed to win.

Ollie was advancing towards him and the other three stood behind him. They were cheering on the bulky college student and Max realized he had no way to escape. If he went back, he would be beaten to a pulp, if he went forward he would be beaten to a pulp, if he went back to campus he would be chased, if he managed to get away and went home, they would know where he lived. Max was in quite the dilemma.

There was a yell of pain suddenly, and blue electricity crackled around Ollie. He stood there for a few moments, looking surprised, and then the second wave of electricity came. He howled in pain and came crashing down, but no one was behind him.

"Stay away from him." Max froze and he looked at the ground, where a second shadow resided. Twisting around to peek over his shoulder, there stood Isaac in a battle position with a taser in his hand. "Come any closer, and I will hurt you." He threatened. His voice wavered a bit, and Johnny laughed, walking forward. Isaac threw his free arm out, and it hit Max that the redhead was trying to shield him.

"Get outta the way, pipsqueak." Johnny said calmly. "This has got nuthin' ta do with ya."

"Max is my friend, therefor it is my business." Isaac responded. His muscles were tense, and the moment Johnny tried to get past him to get to Max, he thrust forward the hand that held the taser. It hit his stomach and Johnny yelped in surprise and pain. Isaac kicked his legs out from underneath him before turning and grabbing Max's wrist. They ran, and the brunet still tried his best to process what had just happened.

They stopped a good distance away, and Isaac released his wrist. "Are you okay?" He asked urgently, worry apparent in his big blue eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Max reassured, hands going out and fingers lightly encircling his friend's wrists. Isaac looked doubtful, and he ripped his wrists away.

"You're stupid." He spat. "Getting in fights like that." Max opened his mouth to defend himself, but was made speechless when warm arms encircled his neck and Isaac buried his face in the other's neck. He didn't know exactly what to so, but he hugged him back.

"I won't do it again," Mnx said slowly, unsurely. Johnny would probably try to get revenge, or he would be too scared to come near him.

Isaac pulled him away. "You better not," he warned.

Max rubbed his neck and laughed awkwardly. To clear the tension, he gestured to the taser in Isaac's hand. "Where'dyou learn to use that?"

"My dad's head of the police department." Isaac said slowly. "He prefers using a taser when he's in danger, because the electricity can stun someone for a pretty good amount of time."

"Cool." Max nodded, and Isaac shifted around a bit.

"You won't tell anyone about this, right? I'm supposed to be a pacifist." Isaac blushed. "Just kinds freaked out when I saw they were beating you up."

Max ruffled his hair with a smile. "It's our little secret." He promised.

Isaac extended his free hand, pinkie out. Max snorted at the motion, but he hooked his pinkie with the other's. Then they lost all contact and Isaac walked him home.

"I'm not a girl, you know." Max retorted.

"I know." Isaac said calmly, folding his arms. "But you have a gang of stupid bullies following you."

"Good point." Max chuckled.

Isaac sighed. "So much for using my lunch break to hang out with you. I gotta get back to work." He smiled and Max waved as he watched him leave. He stood at his door until that spiky orange hair was out of his sight, and he turned to go in. Isaac had tried to protect him. He found himself smiling uncontrollably, and didn't know why.


	7. Chapter 7

_Bzzzt! Bzzzt!_

Max perked up at the sound of vibrating and he reached out to grab his phone. Picking it up off the coffee table, he flipped it open and had disappointment wash over him—not that he let that show. It was just his dad, asking him a stupid question he couldn't care less about. The brunet deflated, sinking down into the couch and returning his attention to the TV. Isaac hadn't texted him for a couple of days, and he was suffering from serious social withdrawal.

"Were you hoping it was your boyfriend?" Zoey asked, gaze not shifting from the colorful cartoon that was playing on the screen.

"I don't have a boyfriend, Zoey." Max retorted.

"Oh, _please_. You and Isaac are totally an item." His sister switched her attention over to him, grey eyes bright.

"If we're an item, then so are you and Alex." He replied cooly. Zoey's cheeks flushed red,

"Well I didn't sleep with him!" She blurted in response. Max stiffened, eyes going wide.

"I—Wha—I didn't sleep with Isaac!" He spluttered, suddenly feeling hot under the collar. "We shared a bed, but I did _not_ sleep with him. Gross, Zo."

"Sure," Zoey said sarcastically. "I believe you."

Max felt his irritation and anger burst forth at the similar feelings rolling off of his sister in waves, so he stood up and left without a word. He snatched his phone, shoving it into his pocket, and stalked out the door, making a point to slam it shut after him. Max leaned against the thick wood, closing his eyes and taking in a long sigh. He didn't like Isaac that way, so why was he reacting like this? He freaked out over a stupid accusation.

The brunet pushed off the wood and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, staring at the ground a few feet ahead of him for the most part. His thoughts remained fixed on Isaac and his feelings towards the bubbly hairdresser. His stomach twisted nervously, and he didn't know why, because there was nothing to be nervous about now.

He heard the thunder before the first drop of rain hit, and then it was pouring and the parkourist's clothes were sticking uncomfortably to his body. He tipped his hat down, eyes cast to the ground as he continued on walking.

Max wasn't sure where his feet were going to take him, but he found himself at the back entrance to the Activity Club Salon. _Isaac_. His name appeared, nagging at the back of his mind, and Max was sure that it would drive him insane eventually. He reached to knock, but the door was opened before he even got a chance. He pulled back, startled, but the man on the other side of the door appeared even more so.

"Hello," he greeted unsurely. Max nodded.

"Hey. Is Isaac here?" The man looked at him curiously.

"Are you Maxwell?" He inquired.

"Just Max." He deadpanned, having to say that every time someone that wasn't his family called him by his full name. "Is Isaac here?" He repeated.

"Of course. I'm Spender, by the way. Rick Spender." The blonde nodded, opened an umbrella, and brushed past Max to leave. Max stepped inside, sighing at the warmth, and he padded up the steps. Isaac saw him the moment he was in view, and stopped whatever it was he had been doing.

"Holy cow, you're soaked!" He gestured for Max to come over and sit in the couch, but the brunet was hesitant in doing so. "Don't worry, you won't ruin it. It'll dry. I'm gonna go get a towel." The ginger rushed out, and Max settled down. He was shaking from how cold his skin was now, so he took off his hat and pulled his sweatshirt over his head. What a perfect day to decide that he didn't want to wear a shirt under his sweatshirt.

A small squeak announced Isaac's arrival and when Max looked up, he noticed that his friend' scheme ks were dusted with pink. He had a fluffy white towel in his hands, and he came over. With a small sigh, he rested in knee on the couch cushion between Max's legs, and he started rubbing the other's hair down.

"Why the heck were you out there?" He asked.

"I got mad at Zoey and I didn't want to fight with her." Isaac paused in his movements, but he kept on drying Max's hair. They lapsed into silence, and suddenly Max was too painfully aware of how close they were, and how warm Isaac was, and how loud his heartbeat was. He wondered if Isaac could hear it. He watched how the ginger's chest rose and fell, wondering of his heart was beating just as fast.

Reflecting back on his thought pattern from earlier, Max decided that he really did like Isaac. He liked him a lot.

Isaac moved the towel down and sat on his leg, so he and Max were at eye level, though he refused to make eye contact. The towel was draped over Max's shoulders now, but he barely noticed as he found himself staring at Isaac's lips. He really wanted to kiss him.

He pressed his forehead against Isaac's, and suddenly blue eyes met grey and their breath mingled, and Isaac's lips were just so close to his, but still not close enough. He just had to tilt his head just a little bit, and the gap would be gone.

So he did.

He closed his eyes and removed the gap, pressing his cold lips against Isaac's warm, soft ones. They molded perfectly together, and Max could literally feel sparks wherever they were touching. The kiss was slow, unsure and scared, but Isaac kissed back just as slowly and unsurely.

They pulled away, staring at each other and breathing quietly as to not disturb the moment.

Isaac surged forward, capturing Max's lips and cupping his face. Max wound his arms around the redhead, pressing back and pretending his heart wasn't about to beat right out of his chest. The redhead kissed him over and over, and soon they were laughing between kisses and they had to pull away to breath and laugh.

"God, I've wanted to do that so badly," Isaac confessed, grinning.

"Yeah... Same." The smile on Max's face made him feel like it was going to crack in half, but he didn't care. He was giddy and blissful and he had just kissed someone willingly for the first time since Sam, back in seventh grade.

"So... Can we do that more?" Isaac asked, suddenly shy. "Kissing, I mean."

Max took Isaac's hand, twining their fingers together. "Yeah, sure." He thought for a moment "I'll throw a couple of dates into the mix, if you want."

Isaac was practically glowing, and he threw himself at Max, hugging him tight. It was at that moment that Max remembered the towel around his neck and the lack of shirt on his body.

"Hey, can I borrow some clothes?" Isaac pulled back and blushed, as if he'd forgotten about it, too.

"Yeah, sure. You know where everything is. I'll go throw your wet clothes into the dryer." The ginger picked up his sweatshirt and disappeared into the laundry room, and Max went to Isaac's room. The walls were plastered with anime posters and posters that he had probably gotten from books. He took a shirt and pants and quickly swapped out clothes, so that he was fully dressed when Isaac walked in.

"So..." Isaac was leaning against the doorframe. "Is it safe to assume we're dating now?" He sounded unsure, and Max just snickered.

He kissed him in response. "No dip, Sherlock."

**Hey! They finally kissed! **

**But yeah you guys shouldn't feel like all is puppies and unicorns and rainbows because I totally plan on destroying all happy moments that exist here uwu**

**-StarryEyedArtist**


	8. Chapter 8

Dating Isaac was probably the best decision Max had made since moving to Mayview. Whenever Isaac was off work and Max didn't have classes, they were together. They would go get something to eat at the food court nearby the college campus, or they would go tramp around in the woods behind Max's house. Sometimes they just sat around and talked. Whatever it was they did together, they would poke fun at each other until the creative energy was gone and they were stuck using insults like "pretty boy" and "nerd".

It was nice.

Two weeks after the official start of their relationship, they were laying on the floor of Max's room, staring up at the ceiling that was now covered with glow in the dark stars. Isaac had had a bunch of them he hadn't gotten around to using, so he begged Max to let him put them up. He had originally said no, but Isaac's puppy-dog eyes convinced him otherwise, and he had brooded about it for a few hours. Anyways, Zoey had decided that the house was cold and their father had cranked the heat up so it was eighty degrees, so Max was missing a shirt and Isaac had his undershirt.

They were quiet, and Max was beginning to wonder if Isaac had fallen asleep. He titled his head so he was looking at his boyfriend, and he found the redhead had his blue eyes trained on him. He gave a reassuring smile, hoping to put Isaac's occupied mind at ease.

"You do know that you're gonna have to meet my parents eventually," Isaac said softly, taking Max's hand as to reassure himself.

"Yeah, I know that. I don't see why, since you don't keep contact with them as it is."

"I see them on holidays, sometimes. Y'know, just to go see how they're doing." Max lifted their hands, bring them close so he could kiss Isaac's knuckles. The ginger watched, blushing faintly and smiling.

"Everything'll be alright, okay?" It was weird, how easy it was to console Isaac. It made him feel creepy to compare the two, but his sister and his boyfriend had very similar patterns of anxiety, and their thought patterns were nearly identical when they were upset. It was helpful for Max, though, because he knew how to make Isaac calm and happy again.

The brunet sat up, shifting so he was leaning against his bed, and soon Isaac joined him and crawled into his lap. The ginger curled against him, so Max just smiled and pressed his lips to Isaac's temple.

He understood the concerns that radiated off of the hairdresser; his parents weren't likely to receive a boyfriend well. Isaac had confessed that his mother was bipolar, and both his parents extremely homophobic. Because he was raised with the mindset that being gay was the equivalent to sin, Isaac told Max he had been terrified to find out that girls weren't really in his interest. He had thought something was wrong with him.

Now, with his arms around his boyfriend and the peaceful silence in the room, Max wondered why anyone thought it was bad. It was just love, wasn't it?

Max dipped his head so his lips brushed against Isaac's neck, feeling his heartbeat and smiling slightly at it. A small sigh came from him, and he leaned against Max with his eyes fluttering closed. The brunet pretended like he didn't notice the jump of Isaac's pulse or the fluttering in his own chest.

_Bzzt! Bzzzt!_

Both of them jumped as Max's phone started going off, and Isaac immediately scooted off of his lap so he could check. A small whine was pulled from him, but Max checked his phone regardless and felt his mouth go dry.

_[Thursday; Sam] 4:29 PM: hey bro! doghouse and i r gonna b passin through mayview tomorrow_

_[Thirsday; Sam] 4:29 PM: wanna meet up w/ us?_

He hadn't actually talked much with his high school friends after graduating, so now that one of them was contacting him, he was slightly concerned. Isaac scooted next to Max, peeking over his shoulder curiously.

"Who was that?" The ginger cocked his head cutely and Max just sighed, flopping down across his boyfriend's lap.

"My ex and my friend Sam." He said calmly. "She and Doghouse are passing through tomorrow and she wants to meet up. I love 'em and all, but I don't really want to see them."

Isaac started absentmindedly playing Max's hair, twirling the brown strands around in his fingers much to the brunet's secret delight. "You should go see them," he encouraged, smiling and kissing the top of his head. "They're your friends, aren't they? You don't know when you'll see them again."

Max tilted his head up to look at Isaac and made a face. "Yeah, but..."

"No buts. You can be social with people other than me, Isabel, and Ed." Isaac smiled and pecked him on the lips, now that his face was revealed. "If you really want me to, though, I'll go with."

Max thought about it. It would be a relief to have a fourth party, because Doghouse and Max were in completely different sides because of the stupid fight with Sam, but at the same time he didn't exactly want his friend's from the big city to know that he had a boyfriend... He also didn't want to run the risk of Isaac pulling out his taser, as he'd gained a habit of doing whenever he was around someone that he didn't trust.

"Yeah, you're coming. I'll see when they're dropping by, and you can just take your lunch break then, yeah?"

Isaac laughed. "Yeah, sure." He got to his feet, shoving Max off of his lap, and made a mock now. "I'm gonna go back and get food and junk, since you guys ran out of vegan bars. I'll see you tomorrow, nerd."

Max hopped up and kissed him playfully—Isaac liked to complain about him getting the last kiss as opposed to the last word, but he did it even more so because of the complaint. "I'll see ya." The ginger gave him one last hug and a peck on the cheek before turning and heading out of the room, leaving Max sitting on his bed and grinning like an absolute idiot.

That grin slid away as his phone went off, and then again. Two messages from different people.

_[Thursday; Sam] 4:34 PM: you spacin? we'll b there around noon tomorrow, so c u then!_

_[Thursday; You] 4:35 PM: Yeah, okay. See you.._

Max slid to the next conversation and felt a small smile flit onto his face. Isaac had sent him a stupid picture earlier that hadn't sent and now that it had, he had a distraction from the undeniable stress ball that were his city friends. Max had taken Isaac to an amusement park out of town for their first date, and Isaac had gotten someone to take a picture of them after the brunet had won a grey stuffed bear for the ginger. Isaac was grinning so wide it looked like it hurt, and Max had his gaze fixed off camera, trying to hide his face with his hat.

_[Thursday; Isaac] 4:34 PM: -Attachment-_

_[Thursday; Isaac] 4:34 PM: oh my god it finally sent it's been like three hours_

_[Thursday; You] 4:36 PM: Be careful, your inner nerd is showing._

_[Thursday; Isaac] 4:36 PM: oh shush._

_[Thursday; You] 4:37 PM: Nope._

_[Thursday; You] 4:38 PM: By the way, Sam and Doghouse will be in town around noon tomorrow. Think you can make it?_

_[Thursday; Isaac] 4:39: Oh yeah, that's easy._

Max found himself grinning again at the overall dork level from Isaac and. he flopped onto his back, sinking into his soft blankets.

Tomorrow was going to be quite the adventure

**This too way too long to write, I swear. Anyways! Chapter eight is up!  
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**Sam is totally gonna fuck shit up, and then the O'Connors will fuck things up even further.**

**-evil laughter-**

**starryeyedartist**


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